Question

Wal-Mart captures point-of-sale transactions from over 3,400 stores in 6 countries and continuously transmits these data to its massive 7.5 terabyte data warehouse. Wal-Mart allows its more than 3,500 suppliers to access its data warehouse. These suppliers use this data to identify customer buying patterns at the store display level. They use this information to manage local store inventory and identify new merchandising opportunities. In addition, Wal-Mart uses its data to improve the productivity of individual stores. Employees at Wal-Mart headquarters recently demonstrated hand-held Telxon computers, which resemble hand scanners but hold a year's worth of a particular store's sales history on every item. The devices help store managers decide what to stock. When Hurricane Frances was threatening a direct hit on Florida's Atlantic coast, residents made for higher ground, but in Bentonville, Ark., executives at Wal-Mart Stores decided that the situation offered a great opportunity for its data center. Using information based on what had happened when Hurricane Charley struck several weeks earlier and backed by the trillions of bytes' worth of shopper history that are stored in Wal-Mart's computer network, Wal-Mart experts discovered that the coastal stores would indeed need certain products--and not just the usual flashlights. They learned that strawberry PopTarts increase in sales, seven times their normal sales rate, ahead of a hurricane. The retailer also learned that the prehurricane top-selling item was beer. How would Wal-Mart use an intranet?

A. to replace paper forms with online forms
B. to secure its Web site from snooping
C. to authenticate access to its data center
D. to maintain good relationships with its suppliers
E. to track products as they move through the supply chain

Answer 1

Wal-Mart would use an intranet mainly to track products throughout the supply chain, streamlining inventory management and ensuring efficient operations.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question asks how Wal-Mart would use an intranet for its operations. The correct answer is E: to track products as they move through the supply chain. This involves the use of an internal network to monitor and manage the flow of goods from the suppliers to the warehouse and eventually to the customer. The intranet serves as a tool for Wal-Mart to maintain real-time information on inventory levels, sales data, and logistical details, ensuring efficient operations and helping to maintain good relationships with its suppliers by providing them with access to the data they need for inventory management.